Eastbourne: Vinci Interview
An interview with Roberta Vinci before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
An interview with Roberta Vinci before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
Not only did Madison Keys become the first American to debut in the WTA’s Top 10 since April 1999, but the Aegon Classic champion also dramatically improved her chances for a debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Moving up six spots from No.13, Keys moved into the Top 8 at No.7, just ahead of 2014 finalist Simona Halep. The Top 6 remained unchanged after a week of play in Birmingham and the inaugural Mallorca Open, with Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Garbiñe Muguruza, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, and Carla Suárez Navarro all retained their places on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Birmingham finalist Barbora Strycova also edged closer to the Top 8, moving up three spots to No.13. Caroline Garcia captured her first-ever title on grass and roared into the Top 16 from No.23.
The final Wimbledon preparations continue this week in Eastbourne, with Radwanska, Belinda Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Petra Kvitova all in action.
RTS Ranking Movers
Madison Keys: No. 13 to No.7 (+6)
Caroline Garcia: No.23 to No.16 (+7)
Barbora Strycova: No.16 to No.13 (+3)
Jelena Ostapenko No.28 to No.26 (+2)
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Birmingham.
An interview with Timea Bacsinszky before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
The ladies hoping to reach the Wimbledon main draw begin their quest out in Roehampton on Tuesday; find out which are the ones to watch on wtatennis.com.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Birmingham at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit 36 of the 252 aces at the Edgbaston Priory Club – raising a grand total of $1,685 throughout the week. Keys hit the most with 35 aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Aegon International Eastbourne in Eastbourne. Last year there was a total of 308 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Eastbourne deadline is June 21st at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced June 27th
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
MALLORCA, Spain – Caroline Garcia capped a near-perfect transition from clay courts to grass with her second title of 2016, easing past Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-4, to win the inaugural Mallorca Open.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I’m glad to win any tournament; it doesn’t matter what surface!” a giggling Garcia told press after the match.
“When I arrived here, it was my first tournament on grass this year, so I wasn’t expecting to go this far or win the trophy. It’s a great achievement after a long and diffcult week, so I’m happy to be the winner.”
The Frenchwoman had always proven quite adept on clay, following up her title run at the Internationaux de Strasbourg with a maiden Grand Slam crown in women’s doubles with countrywoman Kristina Mladenovic. But success on grass had hitherto proven far more elusive, with the youngster pointing to a lack of comfort on the often slippery surface.
“For now, this is my best season; when you win your first title, you never know if you’ll win another. It was a dream to win my first, and now I have three, plus the French Open in doubles. The work I’m doing with my team is definitely paying off.”
That all changed this week in sunny Mallorca, where the No.6 moved effortlessly about the court to defeat a pair of former Wimbledon semifinalists in Ana Ivanovic and Kirsten Flipkens to capture her first grass court title on Sunday. Across the net was Sevastova, who was once ranked No.36 in the world before injuries and illnesses forced her to briefly retire. Back on court since early 2015, the Latvian has rocketed back up the rankings, returning to the Top 100 earlier this year.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome Garcia, who won 74% of ponts behind her first serve and broke serve four times in the 85-minute final.
“After so many emotions, it’s hard to remember the match. I remember match point because it was very long! There were a lot of rallies and it was a very intense match; I had to return very well because she used the serve to start aggressively. It was probably the best I played all week, trying to be aggressive and taking the opportunities when they came, so I’m happy with the way I played today.”
With her second title of the season under her belt, the French star moves back into the Top 32, helping her to become the new French No.1 and earn a seed at the upcoming Wimbledon Championships.
“It’s good, but I don’t play tennis to be No.1 in my country. It’s a good achievement but I want to go higher and higher. It’s work from every day and every week, and I’m happier that I’ve won a title to help bring up my ranking. My goal is to be better and better each week, so it gives me a lot of motivation to continue with the hard work.
“It’s always very difficult as you’re starting at a Grand Slam, and it gives me a lot of confidence to head to Wimbledon with a title. I’d never played on grass with a lot of pleasure, but I think this week it changed a lot. Grass is a very difficult surface for everyone, but now that I’ve won one, maybe I’m a favorite [at Wimbledon], but a far-away favorite! I’ll try my best to play as I played here, and I’ll need to be at 100%, and very efficient.”
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – Already assured of becoming the first American to debut in the Top 10 since Serena Williams in April 1999 by reaching the Aegon Classic final, Madison Keys went one better in Birmingham, defeating tour veteran Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 6-4, to win her second WTA title.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Keys had been made to work through a rainy week in Birmingham, winning a pair of thrilling three-setters against Jelena Ostapenko and Carla Suárez Navarro just to clinch her Top 10 debut. Strycova, by contrast, had dropped just one set en route to her second final of what has been a career-best season for the Czech, who is also set to play the doubles final alongside countrywoman Karolina Pliskova against Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva.
But it was the 21 year old American who drew first blood on Sunday’s final, racing out to a 3-0 lead and never looking back in a decisive opening set.
“I think I got off to a good start in the first set breaking early,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I think I held onto the that lead pretty well. Then in the second set, she definitely raised her level.”
Strycova indeed kept it close in the second, engineering a break point in the eighth game that would have allowed her to serve for a decider, but Keys kept her cool and won the last three games on the bounce to win her first WTA title since 2014 – also on grass in Eastbourne.
“There was definitely a couple of games, especially when I was serving, that I really had to dig deep and figure it out. Luckily I was able to.”
A quarterfinalist at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, Keys played near-perfect grass court tennis during the 79 minute affair, hitting 27 winners to 16 unforced errors and winning 13 of 18 forays to the net.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I think getting this many matches in a row was a huge opportunity that I think that can definitely help me at Wimbledon.
“I obviously really love the surface, so the more I get to play on it, the happier I am.”